Fougasse Monégasque

Medium·40 min active + 2 hours 20 min resting

Monaco's sweet festival bread — a soft, enriched dough perfumed with orange-blossom water and anise, studded with almonds and nuts, and decorated with red-and-white anise sweets. Distinct from the savory Provençal fougasse.

Egg

Fougasse monégasque is the sweet anise-and-nut bread of Monaco, a festive and Christmas specialty sometimes itself called a national dish, associated with the safeguarding of local tradition.

Tear a piece of fougasse monégasque and it is soft, golden, and fragrant with orange blossom and anise, studded with almonds. Bite: a tender, faintly sweet brioche-like crumb, perfumed and floral, the anise giving a warm liquorice note, the almonds a gentle crunch, the colored anise sweets sweet little crackles on top. The festive sweet bread of a Monégasque Christmas.

Enriching the dough with eggs, butter, and milk gives a soft brioche-like crumb; the long rise develops flavor and lightness. Orange-blossom water and ground anise are the aromatic signatures, baked in so they perfume the whole loaf. Decorating with anise sweets is the festive Monégasque finish.

Variations

With pine nuts and raisins. With candied citron. Glazed instead of sugar-dotted. With more orange-blossom. Plaited shape. With a hint of rum.

On the Palate

Where Fougasse Monégasque sits in the Monégasque flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

blossom water, 3 tbspOrange

10 gYeast

handfulRaisin

How it's made

8 steps · 40 min active + 2 hours 20 min waiting

1
12 min
Warm 200 ml milk; dissolve 10 g yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in it; let foam 10 min.
2
8 min
Mix into 500 g flour with 80 g sugar, 2 eggs, 60 g soft butter, 3 tbsp orange-blossom water, and 1 tsp ground anise.
3
92 min
Knead to a soft, smooth dough; rise 90 min until doubled.
Watch out
Knead until the dough turns smooth and elastic, then let it rise to a full double — under-risen and the crumb bakes dense, not brioche-soft.
4
6 min
Knock back and work in 80 g chopped almonds and a handful of nuts.
5
42 min
Shape into a flat oval on a tray; prove 40 min.
6
4 min
Brush with egg and scatter with whole almonds and pearl/anise sugar.
7
25 min
Bake at 180°C for 25 min until golden and risen.
Watch out
Bake until golden and puffed; the orange-blossom and anise should perfume the kitchen as it colors up.
8
6 min
Cool, then dot with red-and-white anise sweets and serve in slices.